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Volume LXXV, Number 14
University of Southern California Los Angeles, California
Friday, October 6,1978
LAS revisions approved by committee
By Betty Wong
Staff Writer
Major revisions in the structure and concept of the letters, arts and sciences general education requirements were approved bv the University Curriculum Committee Thursday.
It is hoped that the new requirements will be implemented next fall but "we don't want to implement anything until it's ready,' said Karen Nichelson, coordinator of general education.	.
The change in requirements will onlv applv to those seeking
a bachelor of arts degree. Students currently enrolled will continue under the old requirements but will be able to take advantage of the new requirement courses.
The purpose of the new requirements is to give the student more breadth and depth, Nichelson said.
The spectrum of courses will be narrowed, however, students will still have a variety of courses from which to choose.
"Someone has sat down and decided what are the important
Library employee found shot to death in alley
An employee of Doheny library was found shot to death in an alley at Adams Boulevard and Normandie Avenue.
Rosemary Janet Cobb, 26, was shot several times in her upper torso. She was found Sept. 28 but was not identified until Wednesday.
Cobb, a graduate student working on a master's degree in cinema, called in sick to work on the morning of Sept. 28. This was the last time she was heard from, said Joe Freia, a sergeant with the Southwest Division of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Freia said a friend of Cobb's went to the victim's home Tuesday and when no one answered the door, a phone call to the library revealed that she had been missing since Sept. 28.
Employees of the library went to the Southwest Division Wednesday to file a missing person's report on Cobb. The police then asked them to check an unidentified body, which they recognized as Cobb.
Freia said there are no leads in the case. Any students having anv information concerning Cobb's death are requested to call Freia at 485-6570.
issues of a subject and how they integrate with one another," said John Marburger, dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
Marburger said the new system would not be a mass assembly line and that "students will not be forced into a mold."
The system is better because it provides for quality control, Nichelson said. A committee of experts, liaisons from each department and students will monitor the quality of the new courses.
As for foreseeable problems, Marburger said the only difficulty was in setting up good courses. There was some fear among some departments that some of the courses would not be approved by the committee and therefore be unable to participate in the program, Marburger said. "But it looks to me like it's workable."
One of the reasons leading ultimately to the revision dealt with the inadequacy of the old distributive system, he said.
In the natural sciences, for example, students are required to take three courses spread over a minimum of seven departments. "It is possible for a student to go through the natural sciences requirements and not learn anything," Marburger said.
"A student could take the required three courses in as-
tronomy, math and computer science and never study biology or physics or geology," he said.
The general consensus is that the present general education requirements are too loosely structured. "Students are taking courses intrinsically worthwhile but not essential," said Lloyd Moote, chairman of the LAS general education committee.
"The distributive system is too permissive."
Nichelson traces the permissiveness in general education requirements back to the late 1960s. She said students put much pressure on educators to create courses and course requirements that were immediately more relevant.
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Briggs initiative would not affect university if passed
Proposition 6, the November ballot initiative that would prohibit known homosexuals from teaching in public schools, would have no legal effect on the university if passed.
This is the view of both university officials and spokesmen for the gay community.
Opponents of the initiative written by State Sen. John Briggs (R-Fullerton) fear, however, the initiative could create a climate of discrimination against homosexuals and those sympathetic to their cause, which could lead to firings and harassment at the university level.
Houston Flournoy, vice-president of governmental affairs, said flatly that the Briggs initiative would have no effect on the university.
He said it would only affect public elementary and secondary schools.
Jarel McCrary, a San Francisco attorney who is a legal adviser to that city's large gay population, agreed with Flournoy.
"USC is a private school. The Briggs initiative, by its wording, applies only to local school boards. It doesn't apply to private schools or to universities," he said.
"It could have a secondary effect on the general climate," he said. "If it passes, it would be a signal to those who are willing to discriminate that discrimination has been sanctioned."
An attorney for UCLA said that since the wording of the measure
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AN EYE ON CAMPUS
Food, frolic make Founders Day successful
THE AGONY OF DEFEAT—The Founders Day egg-throwing contest tested students' coordination and ability to handle the mess that accompanied failure. The celebration gave students a chance to partici-
pate in other contests such as tug-of-war, bubble-gum blowing, balloon stomping and a trivia quiz. Highlights of the day were dunking professors and the Hairy Legs contest. DT photo by Larry Drum.
It was free, it was fun, it was there, it was gone.
Walking around the Founders Day celebration events, one was reminded of the major issues at this university since its opening.
Students and administrators have each been pulling on opposite sides of the rope on many issues, which was signified by the tug-of-war.
Each side pulled and yanked, but the inviting mud pile in the middle was apparently too great . a temptation for some participants to resist.
The egg toss was reminiscent of the rapid fire method of education. Students are constantly bombarded with facts and figures.
The eggs were often overthrown, sailing right over the receivers' heads.
All of the hot air floating around the university was released in the bubblegum blowing contest.
It was probably the only time when students could get themselves into a sticky situation and, with just a little work, come out all right.
In the 1880s, frustrated faculty and students took out their agressions by shooting the
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